This month I’d like to focus on an important announcement regarding New Zealand’s Digital Identity Trust Framework that the Minister David Clark, who is both the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs as well as Digital Economy and Communications, made at the last DINZ event held in Wellington.
Firstly, Minister Clark, who also chairs the the new Digital Ministers’ Group, talked to us about the Digital Strategy for Aotearoa and it’s three pillars:Mahi tika (trust)Mahi tahi (inclusion)Mahi ake (growth).Mahi Tika is viewed as being critical for government and businesses as we build confidence in new processes and technology. With Mahi Tahi there is a need to make sure we bring everyone along on this digital journey. And Mahi Ake is about ensuring that New Zealand is well positioned to reap the rewards of being a digital nation and securing a bigger piece of the global pie.
Minister Clark went on to talk about the Government’s work on digital identity and he articulated how it is a crucial enabler to these three strategic pillars. He then announced that the Government has approved proposals to establish a Digital Identity Trust Framework in law.
He stated that the Government is committed to enhancing trust and confidence in how organisations handle personal and business identity information, that the legislation will ensure that everyone is clear on their rights and obligations and that the framework will give the tech sector a solid reference for how they can innovate and grow.
He also made it clear that there is a commitment to ensuring that the digital identity system reflects Māori perspectives, and that officials are engaging extensively with iwi to deliver this framework in a way that supports tikanga Māori.
He concluded by stating that a trusted modern digital identity system will help grow our digital economy, transform government services and ensure all New Zealanders can take part in the digital world. Here’s some press coverage on Minister Clark’s announcement.
The announcement was followed by a lively Q&A session during which Ann-Marie Cavanagh who has dual hats as Deputy Chief Executive Digital Public Service, and Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer, and Alan Bell, the Executive Director, Digital Identity took a range of questions from the floor.
For me there were a few key takeaways: The government seems to be taking development of the digital sector seriously as a key element in making New Zealand a more secure and prosperous place. There is an emerging strategy to assist and hopefully accelerate that developmentDigital identity is a central component of both the government’s digital strategy and in the development of our digital sector overall. DINZ and its members can play a pivotal role in achieving these goalsThere’s a shed load of work to do to get there!We had hoped to repeat the event on 5th of May in Auckland, but for a number of reasons that is now happening on 3rd June. Whilst there is quite a gap between the two events, both Ann-Marie Cavanagh and Alan Bell will be at the Auckland event and this presents an awesome opportunity for those working in the digital identity space to spend some time with a couple of people who will be central to the role government plays in this space. We look forward to seeing many of you there, ensure you register to secure your place.
Ngā Mihi,
Michael Murphy
Executive Director
